# City of Grand Rapids General Retirement System

City of Grand Rapids General Retirement System is a Pension Fund based in Grand Rapids, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Pension Fund
- **Headquarters:** Grand Rapids, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Grand Rapids, MI, United States
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** grpensions.org
- **LinkedIn:** https://grpensions.org/

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The City of Grand Rapids General Retirement System provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to municipal employees in Michigan. The plan is a component unit of the city government, administered jointly with the Grand Rapids Police & Fire Retirement System under a shared office and leadership team. Executive Director Benjamin Dziengel runs day-to-day operations, while Michael Hawkins chairs the Board of Trustees for both retirement systems. Peggy Korzen, a long-term executive, holds the title of Executive Director Emeritus. The system's investment strategy spans public and private markets with a heavy tilt toward income-producing and real-asset strategies. Confirmed positions include the CenterSquare Investment Management REIT portfolio for commercial real estate, the Wellington Management Commodities Fund for broad commodity exposure, and a Harvest Fund Advisors MLP portfolio targeting North American midstream energy. Fixed-income allocations are managed by Baird Advisors (core) and Western Asset Management (core plus), with Brown Brothers Harriman handling a TIPS portfolio. The private credit portfolio is global in scope, and the plan also engages in distressed debt, special situations, and mezzanine lending. The retirement system is an active participant in the Michigan Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems (MAPERS) and the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS). These memberships provide access to manager due diligence, educational conferences, and peer networking among public pension plans. The plan has disclosed no dedicated in-house investment staff beyond the executive director and board, relying on external managers for asset allocation and manager selection. The plan's structure as a joint operation with the Police & Fire Retirement System under a single executive director creates an unusual consolidated governance model for a municipal pension fund. This shared administration — alongside the board's direct oversight of niche allocations like MLPs and commodity funds — distinguishes its operational posture from that of larger, fully staffed state systems that delegate these decisions to investment committees or outsourced CIOs.

## Sectors

- Private Credit
- Real Estate
- Infrastructure
- Energy Transition & Renewables
- Hedge Funds
- Secondaries & Special Situations

## People

- Benjamin Dziengel — Executive Director
- Michael Hawkins — Chairman of the Board of Trustees
- David Tryc — Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees
- Peggy Korzen — Executive Director Emeritus

## Questions

### Who makes investment decisions at the Grand Rapids General Retirement System?

The Board of Trustees, chaired by Michael Hawkins, holds ultimate fiduciary authority. Day-to-day operations fall to Executive Director Benjamin Dziengel. The plan has no dedicated internal investment team disclosed publicly, relying on external managers and consultant relationships for asset allocation and manager selection.

### What alternative asset classes does the system include in its portfolio?

The plan deploys capital across private credit, commercial real estate via CenterSquare's REIT portfolio, commodities through Wellington Management, and MLP/midstream energy through Harvest Fund Advisors. It also invests in distressed debt, special situations, mezzanine lending, and a global private credit allocation.

### How is the fund related to the city's Police & Fire Retirement System?

The two systems operate as sister entities under a single administrative office. Benjamin Dziengel serves as Executive Director for both, and Michael Hawkins chairs both boards. The shared governance structure consolidates oversight of the city's primary municipal retirement liabilities.

### Does the plan commit to private-market funds or only direct investments?

The plan uses a fund-of-funds and direct-commitment hybrid model. It holds separate-account mandates, such as the CenterSquare REIT portfolio and the Harvest MLP portfolio, and also invests in commingled funds managed by Wellington, Baird, Western Asset, and Brown Brothers Harriman.

## Related profiles

- [City of Dearborn](https://altss.com/profile/city-of-dearborn)
- [Brookline Retirement Board](https://altss.com/profile/brookline-retirement-board)

---

Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/city-of-grand-rapids-general-retirement-system

Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology